Company name and business type: how to choose?
In Quebec, your company bears either a number assigned by the enterprise registrar or a name you choose: in French, with the indication of its legal form, and checked before filing.
This guide starts from the type of business, which sets the naming rule, then follows the choice in order: number or name, search, the rules of the Act, reservation. Each rule points to the statute that sets it or to Paul Martel’s reference work. The name step in our form is described in our guide to the incorporation steps.
What are the different types of business in Quebec?
The Civil Code provides four partnerships: general, limited, undeclared and joint-stock (the business corporation), the only one that is a legal person. The form you choose sets the naming rule.
Despite the shared word in French, the Civil Code “société” (a partnership) is not a legal person; only the business corporation is one (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2188). Under a contract of partnership, the partners agree to carry on an activity together, to contribute property, knowledge or activities to it, and to share the resulting profits (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2186).
“Partnerships are either general partnerships, limited partnerships or undeclared partnerships. They may also be in joint-stock form, in which case they are legal persons.”
| Form | Legal person? | What the name must say |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietorship | No | Your surname and given name, or another name: in that case, registration with the enterprise register is mandatory (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 21) |
| General or limited partnership | No (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2188) | A name common to the partners (art. 2189), with its legal form in or after the name (art. 2197) |
| Business corporation (company) | Yes (Civil Code of Québec, art. 2188) | “société par actions” or “compagnie”, or, at the end, “inc.”, “ltée” or “s.a.” (Business Corporations Act, s. 20); or a number in lieu of a name (s. 23) |
| Cooperative | Yes (Cooperatives Act, s. 3) | “coopérative”, “coopératif” or “coop”, terms no other person or partnership may use (s. 16) |
The undeclared partnership is the Civil Code’s third partnership; a general or limited partnership that does not file its registration declaration is deemed to be one, subject to the rights of third persons in good faith (art. 2189). A company may not bear a name that falsely suggests it is a non-profit group (Business Corporations Act, s. 16).
To choose the form itself, see our comparison of legal forms. The rest of this guide covers the name of the business corporation.
Company name or numbered company: which should you choose?
The numbered company is the simplest: no search, no reservation, no declaration about the name. A chosen name requires those checks; it is the name that will appear on your contracts and invoices.
At the founders’ request, the registrar assigns the corporation a designating number in lieu of a name (Business Corporations Act, s. 23), for example 1234-5678 Québec inc. The articles then set out no name (s. 5), and the declaration on the name’s compliance does not have to be filed with them (s. 8). According to Martel, the Act does not provide for the registrar to require a corporation to replace that number with a name (para. 8-75).
“At the request of a corporation or its founders, the enterprise registrar assigns a designating number to the corporation in lieu of a name.”
| Numbered company | Chosen name | |
|---|---|---|
| Name search | None | Yours to do (Business Corporations Act, s. 18) |
| Reservation | Not needed | Optional: 90 days, $27 (s. 17) |
| Declaration filed with the articles | Not required (s. 8) | Reasonable means taken to ensure the name complies (s. 8) |
| Change imposed later | The Act does not provide for the registrar to require it (Martel, para. 8-75) | Possible if the name does not comply (ss. 24 and 25) |
| With Incorp-Québec | Included in the Essential package at $497 as in the Complete package at $667 | $30 option; it may take longer |
A number does not stop you from displaying a name: the company may operate under a name other than its own, declared in the register, provided it contains neither “inc.”, “ltée”, “s.a.”, “compagnie” nor “société par actions” (s. 21; Civil Code of Québec, art. 306). See the section on your own name or a company name.
Create your Quebec inc. for $497, government fees included
You choose a number or a name in the form; we prepare the articles and the initial declaration, then file them with the enterprise registrar.
How do you choose and find a name for your business?
Find a name in French that complies with the law, then check it: the registrar refuses a name identical to another, but ruling out confusion with a similar name is up to you.
- Choose permitted words. The name respects the Act’s prohibitions and is built in a certain way: see the naming rules and how a name is formed.
- Search the register. Searching the enterprise register is free; our guide to the enterprise register explains how. The registrar refuses the certificate if the name is identical to a name reserved for or used by another person in Québec (Business Corporations Act, ss. 16 and 474), and a name stays identical despite small changes (see how a name is formed).
- Rule out confusion. At filing, the registrar does not refuse a name that is confusingly similar without being identical: that rule is not among those it checks (ss. 16 and 474). To assess confusion, one looks in particular at how distinctive the names are, their visual or phonetic resemblance, the ideas they suggest, their notoriety, or the actual or likely competition between the businesses (para. 8-21). Such a name can be challenged afterwards: any interested person may ask the registrar to order its replacement (s. 25).
- Also search trademarks. Martel considers it prudent to add a trademark search to the register search (para. 8-71).
- Sign the declaration. With the articles, you file a declaration stating that reasonable means have been taken to ensure the name complies with the law (s. 8).
“The persons concerned are responsible for ensuring that the name of the corporation is in compliance with the law.”
New business: what name should it have from the start?
The name set out in the articles, or the number in lieu of it: the new company exercises its rights under that name and shows it on its contracts and invoices.
The name is the first item of the articles of constitution, which the founders sign (Business Corporations Act, ss. 5 and 9), and it must appear on all of the corporation’s negotiable instruments, contracts, invoices and purchase orders (s. 19).
“Every legal person has a name which is assigned to it when it is constituted, and under which it exercises its rights and performs its obligations.”
The initial choice is not final. The articles may be amended to replace a provision they contain (s. 240), by a special resolution of the shareholders authorizing a director or officer to sign the articles of amendment (s. 241). For a new sole proprietorship, the question is different: see the section on your own name or a company name.
Creating a company name: what are the rules in Quebec?
The Act prohibits ten kinds of names. The registrar checks seven before constituting the corporation; the other three, including a confusingly similar name, are yours to check.
The registrar refuses to issue the certificate of constitution if the name breaks one of these seven rules (Business Corporations Act, ss. 16 and 474). The name must not:
- contravene the Charter of the French language;
- include an expression the law reserves for another person or prohibits, for example “coopérative” or “coop”, reserved for cooperatives (Cooperatives Act, s. 16);
- evoke an immoral, obscene or scandalous notion;
- indicate the legal form incorrectly, or omit it when the law requires it;
- falsely suggest that the corporation is a non-profit group;
- falsely suggest that it is, or is related to, a public authority;
- be identical to a name reserved for or used in Québec by another person or group.
The other three prohibitions, which the registrar does not check at filing, are your responsibility (s. 18): a name that falsely suggests a link with another person or group, a name confusingly similar to a name reserved or used in Québec, and a name that is misleading in any other manner (s. 16).
“A corporation’s name must not (…) (8) be identical to a name reserved for or used by another person or group of persons in Québec (…); (9) be confusingly similar to a name reserved for or used by another person or group of persons in Québec (…)”
An accepted name can still be called into question. If it breaks one of the seven checked rules, the registrar may ask the corporation to replace or change it; if the corporation does not comply within 60 days, the registrar may replace it with a number or another name on its own initiative (s. 24).
Company names: what are the rules for forming them in Quebec?
A company name is in French and, if it does not contain “compagnie” or “société par actions”, ends with “inc.”, “ltée” or “s.a.”. Proper names and foreign words may complete it.
- In French. The name of an enterprise must be in French (Charter of the French language, s. 63); it is a condition for obtaining juridical personality (s. 64).
- The specific element. It is the part of the name that distinguishes the business (Martel, para. 8-11). Family names, place names, artificial combinations of letters, syllables or figures, and expressions taken from other languages may serve as the specific element (s. 67). According to Martel, an expression from another language must then be accompanied by a generic element in French, that is, a general identification of the business (same paragraph).
- The legal form. If the name does not include “société par actions” or “compagnie”, it ends with “s.a.”, “ltée” or “inc.”, to indicate that the corporation is a limited-liability corporation (Business Corporations Act, s. 20).
- A version in another language. The name may be accompanied by a version in another language, provided that, when it is used, the French name appears at least as prominently (Charter, s. 68). Outside Québec, the corporation may identify itself by a name in another language (Business Corporations Act, s. 22).
“Family names, place names, expressions formed by the artificial combination of letters, syllables or figures, and expressions taken from other languages may appear in the names of enterprises to specify them, in accordance with the other Acts and with the regulations of the Government.”
Example: in “Boulangerie Tremblay inc.”, “Boulangerie” is the generic element, “Tremblay” the specific element and “inc.” the indication of the legal form.
A name that stays identical despite changes. A name remains identical to another despite the addition of a punctuation mark, an article, a different spelling with the same pronunciation, or another indication of legal form, such as “ltée” instead of “inc.”. Adding a word with no distinguishing character, such as “compagnie”, “société” or “entreprise”, does not make it distinct either (Martel, para. 8-33).
Doing business under your own name or under a company name?
On your own, you may operate under your surname and given name without mandatory registration. Under another name, registration is required; a company, for its part, always has its own name, separate from yours.
As a sole proprietor. Registration with the enterprise register is mandatory if you operate under a name that does not include your surname and given name (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 21). “Atelier Boréal” must therefore be registered; “Marc Côté”, operated under its owner’s name, is not required to be, except for a tobacco retail outlet or a tanning salon (same section). A person not required to be registered may request registration (s. 22).
“The following are required to be registered: (1) natural persons who operate a sole proprietorship, whether or not a commercial enterprise, in Québec under a name that does not include their surname and given name (…)”
As a company. From the date of its certificate of constitution, the business corporation is a legal person (Business Corporations Act, s. 10). Its name is its own, assigned when it is constituted (Civil Code of Québec, art. 305).
Under an assumed name. The company may engage in an activity or identify itself under a name other than its own; it gives notice to the registrar by filing a declaration (Civil Code of Québec, art. 306). That name contains neither “société par actions”, “compagnie”, “s.a.”, “ltée” nor “inc.” (Business Corporations Act, s. 21).
“A corporation may operate under and identify itself by a name other than its own if that other name does not contain the term “société par actions” or “compagnie” or the abbreviation “s.a.”, “ltée” or “inc.”.”
Legal name: what is the official name of the business?
It is the corporate name: the name set out in the articles of constitution, or the number in lieu of it. It must appear on the corporation’s contracts, invoices and purchase orders.
The corporate name is the corporation’s name as set out in its constituting instrument, the equivalent of its birth certificate; under federal law the term distinguishes it from assumed names, a distinction the Quebec Business Corporations Act did not keep (Martel, para. 8-2). In the register, the corporation declares its name and any other name it uses in Québec in carrying on its activity (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 33).
“The name of a corporation must appear on all of its negotiable instruments, contracts, invoices and purchase orders for goods or services.”
This rule applies whether or not the corporation has declared assumed names: the corporate name is the one that appears on those documents (s. 19). The name recorded in the register does not, on its own, give it a right to that name: see the question on the right to the name.
FAQ — Company name: your questions
How is a company entered in the enterprise register?
For a Quebec corporation, the enterprise registrar registers it on the deposit of its articles: it assigns a Québec enterprise number (NEQ) and records its name in the register.
- The registrar registers a legal person constituted in Québec on the deposit of its constituting instrument in the register; other businesses file a registration declaration (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, ss. 30 and 37).
- It then assigns its NEQ and records in the register the date of registration and the information concerning it (same Act, s. 37).
- The corporation then files its initial declaration within 60 days after registration; it also declares there any other name it uses in Québec (same Act, ss. 33 and 38).
Sources: Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, ss. 30, 33, 37 and 38
Can you reserve a company name in Quebec?
Yes: the enterprise registrar reserves a name for 90 days, on application and on payment of $27. During that time, an identical name is refused to any other corporation.
- The registrar refuses to reserve a name contrary to one of the rules it checks itself, for example a name contrary to the Charter of the French language or identical to a name already reserved or used in Québec; the reservation is recorded in the register (Business Corporations Act, s. 17).
- If your articles use the name reserved for you, the registrar does not refuse it on the ground that it is identical to another name (s. 474).
- A numbered company needs no reservation.
Does the name recorded in the register belong to the corporation?
Not from the recording alone: the Act states that recording a name in the register does not, by itself, confer any right to that name.
- The Act says so expressly, for the recording of a name as for the deposit of a document containing it (Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 19).
- Any interested person may ask the registrar to order a corporation to replace or change a non-compliant name, in particular one confusingly similar to their own (Business Corporations Act, ss. 16 and 25).
Sources: Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 19; Business Corporations Act, s. 25
Sources
- Civil Code of Québec (CQLR, c. CCQ-1991), arts. 305, 306, 2186, 2188, 2189 and 2197, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Business Corporations Act (CQLR, c. S-31.1), ss. 5, 8, 9, 10, 16 to 25, 240, 241 and 474, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (CQLR, c. P-44.1), ss. 19, 21, 22, 30, 33, 37 and 38, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Charter of the French language (CQLR, c. C-11), ss. 63, 64, 67 and 68, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Cooperatives Act (CQLR, c. C-67.2), ss. 3 and 16, official English version, updated to June 10, 2026.
- Paul Martel, La société par actions au Québec, vol. 1, Les aspects juridiques, Wilson & Lafleur, paras. 8-2, 8-11, 8-21, 8-33, 8-71 and 8-75 (update 117, February 2026).